More Than Just Friends
by MissingMommy
Summary: "The four of them are more than just friends; they're brothers that will stop at nothing to help one another." Set during 5th year as the Marauders try to become Animagus'


"_More Than Just Friends"_

Sirius slumps down against the closest wall, groaning in frustration and pain as his body hits the floor. His entire body aches with protest as it does after every attempt to become an Animagus. Bones are supposed to be hidebound and that's exactly what makes this bit of Transfiguration so advanced and dangerous; one wrong thought and bones can end up in positions they clearly aren't supposed to be in.

Across from him, James and Peter are resting against the walls, panting as they recover from their latest attempts. Since they discovered the right spell in the middle of fourth year, it has become a ritual for the three of them to make several attempts in the Room of Requirements nightly. Grabbing the goblet of water near him, Sirius drains it quickly.

"Well, I definitely saw black fur and a tail," James tells Sirius. "Peter, over there, had some thin cream fur and rat-like ears. I felt something on my head. So we must be getting close. A few more attempts and we should have it down."

James makes a move towards his own goblet of water, groaning in pain. Sirius points his wand at his glass and mutters, "_Aguamenti_." Water fills his goblet and Sirius drinks greedily. He stands despite the protest his body gives him. Looking towards Remus, Sirius grins. "Don't look so angry, Moony. We're fine!"

Remus is lending against the door, his arms folded in disapproval. As much as he would rather not be present while his best friends are doing something illegal, he needs to make sure that they don't get themselves killed. He frowns at Sirius. "You're clearly in pain," he argues. The three try to hide their discomfort from Remus, but Remus is too observant for that.

James gets himself more water before refilling Peter's goblet as well. Looking up, James shrugs, masking the pain that shoots through his body at the gesture. "It'll be worth it when you don't have terrible marks after each full moon."

Remus glares at them all. "There's a reason it's illegal to try this without Ministry supervision. You could get yourself hurt or killed. And it'll be my fault because you're doing it for _me_. Do you know how it'll make me feel if that happens?"

The three hang their heads sheepishly. As much as Remus would like to be angry at them, he just couldn't bring himself to. He knows it's in their natures to _do_ before _thinking_ about the consequences and he can't exactly blame them for that. They are Gryffindors through and through. "But we can't just let you hurt yourself during the full moon. Not knowing there's something we can do to prevent it," Peter speaks up after looking between Sirius and James.

"You know, Peter's right," Sirius nods. "We couldn't do it. We're going to master it this year and everything is going to be alright." Smiling towards Remus, Sirius adds, "Besides, what are best friends for?"

"Are we ready for another attempt?" James asks the other two. "Remember, Peter, you need to _really_ concentrate on what the spells does." Peter nods.

Standing, Sirius points his wand at his head and mutters the incantation. He closes his eyes and really concentrates on the tail and fur James said he managed last time. But he doesn't leave it at just that thought; he thinks of other features an animal has. Despite the familiar pain his feels as his bones try to rearrange, he doesn't struggle to keep his breathing even and focuses completely on animalistic thoughts.

Opening his eyes, he realizes that the colors of the world are slightly off and is kind of blue-and-green-ish. The second thing he notices is that he isn't standing straight up like he was a few minutes ago. He's not sure when it happened, but it's definitely progress. Looking at his hands, they look more animal-like than human and are covered completely in black fur. Reaching up, he's happy to discover that his face is covered in the same thick fur and his ears are no longer human. He grins triumphantly.

Sirius looks toward where James and Peter were standing a few minutes ago, only to see them standing on all fours as well. Peter seems to have shrunk in size while James nearly doubles. True to James' previous statement, Peter is covered in thin cream fur all over his body with rat-like ears and tail. James' fur is pure white and has a head full of antlers. Trying to tell them that they're both nearly there, Sirius finds he can't talk. Instead a loud bark comes from his mouth.

Apparently having enough, Remus points his wand at them each in turn, changing them back to humans. Sirius groans in pain again and drains his goblet of water. The three of them may be used to the sensation that comes with their bones rearranging, but it doesn't get easier.

"That was definitely a bark I heard," James saying, pointing out the obvious. "Which means that you're Animagus is a dog. And Peter is, without a doubt, a rat."

Sirius drains another goblet of water. "You're a deer," Sirius tells him.

"Actually, James is a stag," Remus corrects.

"What's the difference?" Peter asks, in between swallows of water. He immediately regrets the question as Sirius and James glare at him.

"A stag is male deer. Deer is a cumulative word for the species," Remus informs them, knowing they couldn't care less about the difference.

For a while, all that could be heard throughout the Room of Requirements is the sounds of heavy panting as the three try to catch their breaths and recover enough for another attempt. Remus is still standing near the door, frowning with disapproval, but not saying anything as he watches them mask their pain.

"You know, I've been thinking," James says, breaking the silence that has fallen between the group.

Sirius laughs. "Oh, Merlin, no! Don't do that! You might just hurt yourself." Remus nearly smiles at Sirius' remark, knowing that despite the pain, his friends are still alright.

James shoves Sirius away, muttering, "Ha ha, very funny. But I'm serious."

Without missing a beat, Sirius adds, "You can't be serious because I'm Sirius."

Glaring at Sirius, James rolls his eyes and ignores Sirius' comment. "Anyways, Moony has a nickname based off being a wolf. We've seen rather obvious signs of our Animagus'. Why not make nicknames for us based off that?"

"That's actually not a bad idea," Remus nods.

"I've been known to have the occasional good idea," James grins.

Sirius mutters loudly, "Not that often."

James hits Sirius' sore shoulder and exclaims, "Hey! I resent that." Sirius rubs his shoulder, biting back the groan that threatens to remind James that he's in a lot of pain – he's stronger than that.

"Well, I think you three have had enough practice for tonight," Remus says, breaking them out of their thoughts. "We can talk about this when we get back to the dorms."

The four of them shakily stand and head towards the dorm, laughing and smiling the entire way back. The four of them are more than just friends; they're brothers that will stop at nothing to help one another.

**A/n – This isn't as happy as many of the Marauders fic I've written. But people have to think, bones rearranging had to have hurt a lot. **

_**Please, please don't favorite without reviewing.**_


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